Hakuho, the great yokozuna who defined an era in sumo, has decided to retire. A record 45 top-division championships, seven consecutive titles to equal the all-time mark, an unprecedented 1,000 career wins in the top division, 84 tournaments at the rank of yokozuna... The news brought back memories of the day, six years ago, when the record-setting grand champion visited the Palaceside Building.
On April 8, 2015, Hakuho came to Art Salon Mainichi, the gallery on the first floor of the Palaceside Building, to view the exhibition then under way of his framed championship photographs, organized by The Mainichi Newspapers and Mainichi Building Co. It was just after he had marked his 34th top-division title, surpassing the celebrated yokozuna Taiho, and his popularity was at its absolute peak. Some 300 people, office workers among them, thronged the area around the gallery hoping to catch a glimpse of him. When shouts of “Yo-ko-zu-na!” and applause rose from the crowd, the champion answered with a beaming smile.
After viewing the exhibition, he paid a courtesy visit to the head office of The Mainichi Newspapers on the building's fifth floor. Hakuho wore a bright expression throughout his visit, and by sheer chance I had the opportunity to shake his hand. What has stayed with me ever since is how unexpectedly soft the palm of that mighty grand yokozuna -- famed for his ferocious slaps -- turned out to be.